St. Andrew's School wins GISA State One-Act Play Competition

After a first place finish at regional competitions last week, the cast and crew of "The Boys Next Door", St. Andrew’s fall one-act play, took their show on the road. The play offers vignettes of the lives of three mentally-challenged men living semi-independently with the oversight of their case worker, a dedicated young man played by senior Igor Avramovski, on the verge of burning out in his challenging profession. At regionals, not only did St. Andrew’s win first place but Senior Jeremy Kole was named Best Actor and senior William Gardner and junior Dustin Li, an international student from China, won All Star Actor honors.

The St. Andrew’s Upper School student body came together for a community viewing of the program on Monday before the group departed for Albany, GA for State competition. It was well worth the trip as the cast, made up of juniors and seniors enrolled in the International Baccalaureate theatre class, won first place. In addition to the overall award, Jeremy Kole again earned Best Actor honors for his portrayal of Arnold Wiggins, the highest functioning member of the trio.

As Visual and Performing Arts Department Chair and Theater Director Richie Cook explains, “It’s a difficult show to produce. It is important to capture the struggles of the characters in a realistic way, yet be sensitive to the subject matter. The actors can’t be caricatures of the mentally challenged characters they are portraying. They must approach the story with an honest understanding of the lives of these characters.”